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D’Aversa and Polavarapu win 2017 Keedy Cup

January 27, 2017

The 2017 Keedy Cup finalists shake hands after making their arguments.
The 2017 Keedy Cup finalists shake hands after making their arguments.
Andrew D’Aversa L’17 and Aaseesh Polavarapu L’17 were named the winners of this year’s Edwin R. Keedy Cup. Andrew Steinmetz L’17 was named Best Oralist.

Andrew D’Aversa L’17 and Aaseesh Polavarapu L’17 were named the winners of this year’s Edwin R. Keedy Cup, Penn Law’s internal moot court competition. In addition, Andrew Steinmetz L’17 was named Best Oralist.

The four finalists argued Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami, a pending U.S. Supreme Court case testing whether the Fair Housing Act authorizes city governments to sue banks for mortgage lending practices that allegedly discriminate against borrowers on account of their race. Steinmetz and Jack Wray L’17 argued for the petitioner; D’Aversa and Polavarapu argued for the respondent.

This year’s Keedy judges were the Honorable Steven Colloton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the Honorable Raymond Lohier of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Patty Shwartz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Andrew D’Aversa was born in New Jersey and raised in Pennsylvania and Maryland. He graduated in 2014 from the Schreyer Honors College at the Pennsylvania State University with degrees in Business Management and History. While at Penn Law, he has served as a Littleton Fellow and the Symposium Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. After finishing his final year at Penn Law, Andrew will work at Ballard Spahr LLP and clerk for Judge Noel Hillman of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and Judge Anthony Scirica of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Aaseesh Polavarapu was born and raised in Brentwood, Tennessee. He graduated summa cum laude in 2012 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before returning to Penn for law school, Aaseesh worked as a Senior Analyst at Kobre & Kim LLP in New York City. He currently serves as an Executive Editor on the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He is also a Littleton Fellow for the Legal Practice Skills Program and a member of the South Asian Law Students Association. After graduation, Aaseesh will join the Litigation Department at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. In 2018, he will serve as a law clerk to the Honorable Beryl A. Howell, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The following year, he will clerk for the honorable Michael A. Chagares of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Andrew Steinmetz grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York. He graduated magna cum laude in 2011 from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Communication and Public Service. Before law school, Andrew briefly pursued a professional acting career, which culminated in a small guest role on Law & Order: SVU. He also served for two years as Chief of Staff to Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a leading bioethics and health policy expert. At Penn Law, Andrew currently serves as a board member of the Penn Health Law & Policy Project, a senior editor on the Journal of Constitutional Law, and a Littleton Fellow. After graduation, Andrew will join the Armonk, New York office of Boies, Schiller & Flexner. He and his wife, Janey, just celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

Jack Wray grew up in Barrington, Rhode Island. He graduated cum laude in 2010 from Boston University before commissioning in the Navy as a surface warfare officer. While in the Navy, Jack deployed twice — once to circumnavigate South America and then as navigator on a guided missile destroyer’s maiden deployment to the South China Sea. At Penn Law, Jack served as a member of the Supreme Court Clinic, a senior editor on the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and president of the Penn Mock Trial Association. After graduation, Jack will clerk for the Honorable Gene Pratter in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and hopes to pursue a career in the public interest.